Unless otherwise clearly indicated, results on this site have been declared final and are therefore not subject to query or protest
Clerk of the Course: Adrian Gladwin
Route: 190 Miles
Map: 143, 144, 154 & 155
Starters: 60
Winners: Steve Webster/Roger Hage (Subaru Impreza)
Steve Webster/Roger Hage (Subaru Impreza) repeated their 2001 success by winning Chelmford MC’s Preston Rally.
This was the twenty-fifth running of what is generally acknowledged to be the toughest road rally of the year. The 200 mile route included 125 miles of East Anglian tracks.
Webster/Hage adopted the cautious approach, pushing where possible but taking it easy over the rougher sections, and it brought them victory with a margin of over a minute.
Steve Monk/Pip Clode made a late charge and moved up two places over the last two sections to finish second. They had lost third gear at an early stage after a heavy landing. They also broke the rear exhaust mounting and ended the rally with exhaust held in place with a fan belt. After a second puncture they had to use a compressor before each section to pump up a tyre that was running on a broken rim.
Matt Fowle/Martin Smith (Peugeot 106), who had led briefly, finished third. They had had to contend with a slipping clutch and a starter motor that only worked intermittently, losing them time when they stalled.
Guy Robinson/Mick Fern had an eventful rally. The exhaust on their Proton Persona broke loose early on and a heavy landing after a yump twisted the car’s shell, despite these difficulties they held the lead at the first petrol halt. A wrong slot and an incident when the bonnet flew up meant that they arrived at second petrol in fourth. However when the oil light came on soon afterwards they cut to the finish.
Peter Gabbatiss/Andrew Hughes and Jamie Turner/Graham Raeburn also damaged their cars - writing off their shells - at the same yump as Robinson, the former survived to take sixth place, but Turner/Raeburn had egine problems, cut route and were the last classified finishers.
Andy Baker/Lee Burgess and Steve Massey/Steve Coupland both went out before third distance mark with broken drive shafts on their 205s.
Mike Geoghegan/Chris Robinson won the Semi-Expert class in their Land Rover, while Tony Sims/Gavin Ford were the leading Novices.
Dave Leadbetter/Richard Maclachlan (Peugeot 205 GTi) had the shortest rally, stopping after 1km with a broken exhaust; losing the driver his 100% finishing record on the Preston.
OVERALL RESULTS
Pos | Driver | Navigator | Car | Penalty | |
1 | Steve Webster | Roger Hage | Subaru Impreza | 8m 40s | |
2 | Steve Monk | Pip Clode | Toyota Corolla | 9m 50s | |
3 | Matthew Fowle | Martin Smith | Peugeot 106 Rallye | 10m 38s | |
4 | Mark Banham | Paul Haycock | Subaru Legacy | 13m 13s | |
5 | Tim Tordoff | Ian Frazer | Peugeot 205 GTi | 15m 25s | |
6 | Pete Gabbatiss | Andrew Hughes | Toyota Corolla GT | 16m 58s | |
7 | Owen Turner | Andrew Dadswell | Rover Metro | 20m 00s | |
8 | Lee Earthy | Paul Barrett | Peugeot 205 GTi | 25m 57s | |
9 | Clive Baty | Alan Ogden | Proton Compact | 26m 19s | |
10 | Gavin Rogers | Carrie Rogers | Ford Escort | 29m 23s | |
11 | Rob Reynolds | Nick Ardern | Subaru Impreza | 29m 31s | |
12 | Mike Geoghegan | Chris Robinson | Land Rover Country | 31m 28s | |
13 | Andy Phillips | Alan Pemberton | Audi Quattro Coupe | 31m 28s | |
14 | Jeremy Rodgers | Mark Fearon | MG Maestro EFi | 31m 35s | |
15 | Ben Clay | Richard Hage | Peugeot 205 GTi | 32m 00s | |
16 | Dave Broadley | Ian Broadley | Lada Riva | 32m 33s | |
17 | Doug Kingsley | Ben Greenwood | Vauxhall Nova GTE | 32m 56s | |
18 | Dave Collyer | Chris Thorley | Vauxhall Nova GSi | 36m 48s | |
19 | Mark Slatcher | Justin Chapman | Vauxhall Astra | 37m 06s | |
20 | Dave Rowbottom | John Pearson | Toyota Corolla | 37m 40s | |
21 | Richard Atherton | Chris Bowden | MG Maestro | 37m 54s | |
22 | Bob Wisniewski | Paul Lettington | Vauxhall Nova GTE | 38m 41s | |
23 | John Parsons | Brian Jaggs | VW Golf GTi | 41m 20s | |
24 | Richard Bardbury | Phil Prosser | Peugeot 205 GTi | 44m 04s | |
25 | Stuart Delf | Lorraine Annison | Ford Fiesta | 47m 47s | |
26 | Tony Sims | Gavin Ford | Ford Sierra | 47m 59s | |
27 | Neal Allsopp | Gordon Popperwell | Ford Fiesta | 54m 13s | |
28 | Holly Bailey | Jim Perkins | Vauxhall Nova | 55m 08s | |
29 | Andy Elcomb | Darren Hall | Vauxhall Astra SRi | 56m 55s | |
30 | Kevin Fisher | Glyn Heighton | Ford Sierra 4x4 | 59m 06s | |
31 | David Wilkinson | Mark Garraway | Lada Riva | 1h 00m 08s | |
32 | Mark Butcher | Paul Line | Ford Sierra 4x4 | 1h 04m 53s | |
33 | Dave Leckie | Dave Bell | Vauxhall Nova | 1h 20m 50s | |
34 | Mark Gregory | Julian Evans | Vauxhall Nova | 1F 39m 19s | |
35 | Tim Spearman | Richard Dykes | Skoda Favorit | 1F 44m 39s | |
36 | Lee Robinson | Daniel Robinson | Ford Escort | 1F 59m 34s | |
37 | Joe Massey | Dan Arthurton | VW Polo | 2F 1h 04m 46s | |
38 | Phil Bennett | Rebecca Baldock | Ford Sierra | 2F 1h 28m 29s | |
39 | Neil Palser | Dominic Worsfold | Toyota Corolla GT | 3F 41m 49s | |
40 | Paul Wright | Brian Otridge | VW Jetta | 5F 38m 56s | |
41 | Ian Perry | Clive Chapman | Volvo 340 | 5F 1h 15m 41s | |
42 | Michael Vergers | James Scott | BMW 320i | 7F 50m 47s | |
43 | Peter Skillen | Stephen Pigott | Ford Fiesta XR2 | 7F 1h 28m 53s | |
44 | Guy Robinson | Mick Fern | Proton Persona | 10F 07m 23s | |
45 | Jamie Turner | Graham Raeburn | MG Metro GTi | 22F 18m 01s |